This invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing nonconductive materials and particularly to testing fiber reinforced resin materials for physical and electrical soundness.
Trucks carrying an articulated aerial device or a boom for lifting a man-carrying bucket or basket are often positioned in the proximity of high-voltage power lines and are intended to insulate men located in the baskets from ground or from other nearby high-voltage lines should the boom or basket inadvertently touch some high-voltage line or a ground wire.
To insure the dielectric adequacy of the basket and boom, it is desirable to check the conductivity of the basket and boom; however, electrical shock is not the only danger to which men working in baskets are subjected. There can be latent structural defects in the boom or basket, which will cause it to fail and it is known that sunlight has a deleterious effect on plastic resins, which will cause a gradual degradation of the physical properties or strength of the material. Thus, apparatus and methods for testing the dielectric adequacy, as well as structural soundness of such booms and baskets are a necessity to insure the safety of those who utilize this equipment to maintain the power lines.